Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Adam - excellent suggestion on the E-Myth! A must read.

R@

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

I completely agree with Craig...AtlasShrugged...great read!!! I also enjoyed (although somewhat juvenile in it`s writing style) Raving Fans (I forget the author). The ideas it presented have really stuck with me throughout all of my business endeavors.

Craig...I always knew you had to be an Ayn Rand fan! I have (literally) every book ever written, including her Manifesto. I love Ayn Rand...although I think she became a bit radical in her older age...a bit...um...can`t think of the word...anyway...I love her writing. She is one of the only writers I can truly say I LOVE to read!

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Leah Tucker

I should look to see, but if I don`t have it in my profile, I`ll put it in. I`ve been very much influenced by Rand. It took me a long time to see the flaws in a few of her arguments, but overall, Objectivism is probably the best philosophy for handling physical reality. It only bothers me that she was an atheist. I think there must be a spiritual component to life, and that`s where Individualism is headed.

Craig - I am and have been a huge Rand fan for many years. Being an atheist does not automatically equate to non-spiritualism ... as I read between the lines in your post.

R@

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

Craig and Richard,

How wonderful to find other Rand followers. I have to agree with Richard though. I think the idea of spiritualism is a very personal idea and does not necessarily have to equate to religion in anyway. I think if you dig deeper into her later years you will find that she did begin to entertain the idea of aspiritual side of existance.

Either way...I have been and will be a follower...although (as you mentioned Craig) some of her ideas were flawed...I believe it was merely her passion in the larger picture of Objectivism that blinded her to the smaller flawed areas of her vision. I believe that the overall idea of Objectivism is right on and should be taught more...refined...and embraced.

Do either of you subscribe to any of the publications (ie: The New Individualist, Impact (ARI), etc.)?

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Leah Tucker

Rand had no particular interest in theology, but she wasn`t antagonistic to the concept. What I meant to say is that her Objectivism is completely grounded in physical reality. She passes through metaphysics in the sense that consciousness and existence are axioms, but that`s about it.

Bottom line for me is that Objectivism provides one of the best (if not the best) models for applied logic, as it relates to human nature. There are lots of arguments that there`s no such thing as human nature, but in this context, the idea is how people tend to behave.

Words mean things, and shouldn`t be open much to interpretation. That`s an argument going in the "leader v. servant" thread, and demonstrates that without objective definitions, conversation comes to a halt. So too, morality is a daily process, and we`ve been living with altruism for an awful long time.

If nothing else, Rand`s books are almost unique in their perspective. They offer an excellent view of reality that runs counter to so many of today`s pop-psychology, instant philosophy, and so-called self-help books. It`s why I think they should be on anyone`s reading list.

As for subscribing, I don`t much do that anymore. I read a lot of the post-Rand discussions and writings, and they just don`t seem as fresh. Maybe it`s that I`m more reading other things these days, and spending time on SuN, but I don`t seem to have that much time for periodicals at the moment.